


Tattoos and Tactical Camping Trips

by LeoBananaPhone0829



Series: The Bad Batch and The Reaper [2]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Developing Relationship, Fluff, Magic, Multi, Near Death Experiences, Nightmares, OC is a plant with extra steps, Original Alien Species - Freeform, Original planet, Tattoos, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:41:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23211139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeoBananaPhone0829/pseuds/LeoBananaPhone0829
Summary: Flora Grimm is quiet. By normal people standards she is quiet, but for Hunter to say shes quiet? That's a whole new level of quiet. The woman is serenity and peace and everything Hunter has never seen in another sentient being.
Relationships: Clone Force 99 | Bad Batch/ Original Female Character
Series: The Bad Batch and The Reaper [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1665424
Comments: 17
Kudos: 113





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> There's some nightmares and a little panic attack in this. I just wanted to make sure to tell you guys! 
> 
> I was listening to The Good In Me by Jon Bellion while writing this. I don't know its just a really amazing song.

Hunter sits and watches Grimm work on organizing the med supply cabinet. She whispers to herself as she pulls out a box of gauze and taps on her data pad. Inventory she called it. "You always need to be prepared for medical emergencies, it's when your not prepared that they usually happen." She babbled earlier. 

He notices she keeps tugging on the sleeves of her blacks under her uniform. She wears the kind with the holes for her thumbs, an odd choice for someone who doesn't wear armor or heavy gloves. He has also noticed her fingertips are a darker green than the rest of her skin. Something in the back of his mind tells him to look under the sleeves. He ignores that voice, for now. 

There's something about her. Sure, she's quiet and kind and stays out of the way, but there's something about that quiet. She's unlike anything or anyone he has ever met. There's almost like a bubble that surrounds her. Her presence is what serenity would look like as a sentient being. And he wouldn't admit it to anyone but she's smells amazing, not like the chemicals in perfume or other heavy cosmetic products a lot of women wear. No, she smells like soil. Even though she hasn't left the ship in almost a week, she always smells like that wet earth smell. A forest right after it's rained. Maybe it's her species. 

She turns to pick up something from the table and place it back in the cabinet when she notices him. A small smile plays on her lips. "Sargent, you should be asleep. It's late." Her voice sounds like a bell. 

"I had some mission reports to finish. What are you still doing awake?" He asks voice low to make sure he doesn't wake the other three. 

"I haven't yet adjusted to the whole 'you can sleep for longer than four hours at most' thing. I was hoping no one else was awake." She murmurs softly reaching to place something on a high shelf. "Also Crosshair snores, I can usually tune it out but tonight it's bad." She keeps stretching and that's when he sees it, vines and leaves covering the small sliver of skin he can see. 

"How many tattoos do you have?" Hunter blurts out before he can stop himself. 

She freezes, arm still stretched above her. "Like the truth?" She squeaks. 

He moves up behind her and grabs the box and slides it on the shelf. "You have them on the backs of your hands. That's why you wear that top." 

She sighs and her shoulders drop. She pulls her thumbs out of her sleeves and tugs the black fabric up as far up her wrists as it will go. On the back of her left hand is a bright yellow flower, on her right a brightly colored Alderaanian flare-wing. "So you have at least three?" He asks. 

She smiles nervously. "Goodnight, Sargent!" She squeaks again before darting away into the ship. 

He sighs as he picks up a box of gauze and puts it back into the cabinet. She left her mess.... 

\-------------------

So maybe she was a little nervous about the whole tattoos thing. Well more like letting her CO see them. Especially when he got that close to her. Sure Wrecker knew nothing about personal space, but this felt different, more intimate. Of course she has noticed how Hunter likes to linger around where she is. He tries to act busy, she thought he didn't trust her. She wasn't prepared to deal with something like this, not yet! So of course, she scampered away and locked herself in the refresher to try and sort out her brain. 

She splashes some water on her face before stripping down to her blacks and then brushing her teeth. This is fine. She can go stare at Crosshairs bunk (which is above hers) until she eventually overthinks herself to sleep. Everything will be fine. 

\-------------------

By the time Hunter was done with reports and cleaning up the med supplies, Grimm was long asleep. He had heard her breathing even out after about an hour. Was she okay? Was touching her hands not the right thing to do? What if she thinks he was scolding her for the hand tattoos. They aren't against regs, but they aren't encouraged. Kind of the same with the face tattoos, but he can't really say anything about that, considering half of his own face is covered. Is she that skittish around the others? She has already explained why she flinches every time Wrecker says something way too loud, but she isn't afraid of him. She babbles on and on with Tech, and just let's Crosshair exist. Was she afraid of him? You know what this is a problem for tomorrow Hunter. 

Sleep came easily to him, surrounded by his brothers and their weird little witchy medic. He was glad he didn't have the same nightmare that the regs did. Tech had figured out a long time ago that their inhibitor chips were never activated because they were defective, who ever decided that they were defective on Kamino can now kiss his whole teams ass. 

When he woke up, shooting straight up gasping and sweat soaked he really wasn't surprised. What he was surprised about was the fact that he couldn't remember the dream at all. He takes a shuddering breath as he closes his eyes, blocking out at least one sense has always helped him. He focuses on the even breathing in the room. Or the mostly even breathing, he realizes. Someone is awake. "Are you okay?" The voice whispers. Grimm. 

He can't seem to respond just taking another shuttering breath. He hears her slip from her bunk and walk the short distance to him. "Hey, it's alright. I'm right here." He can tell she is kneeling on the side of his bunk. 

"I can't remember what it was about." He mumbles. What was the dream about?

"That's alright. That's normal. I'm just going to check your pulse, yeah?" She asks before gently taking his hand. Everything seems to stand still when her skin meets his. The bubble of peace she exudes creeps around him. "You're doing great. Just breathe. In. Out." She murmurs. 

Gods, she's perfect. Calm and serene. He takes a deep breath in and it's full of her. Wet earth, and warm sleep. He reaches out and clutches onto her as he opens his eyes. She's there in the darkness with a small, sleepy smile on her face. She is just rubbing a small circle into his pulse point at this point. Comforting him. "Stay." He barely whispers. More of a breath than a whisper. 

"Move over." She whispers as she slips under his covers. He scoots a bit as she settles herself beside him, an arm draped around his waist and her head on his shoulder. She doesn't seem to mind that he's shirtless and a just a little bit sticky from the sweat. He wraps an arm around her waist tightly. "I'm right here. Get some sleep." She murmurs as she burrows deeper into his shoulder. 

\------------------- 

She wakes to an empty bed, which isn't that unusual, its the fact that it isn't her bed that she woke up in. Bits and pieces slowly come back to her, Hunter, nightmare, "Stay". It makes her feel warm, wanted. She smiles and sits up after a moment. 

She looks towards the other bunks, Crosshair and Wrecker are still passed out, which means Tech and Hunter are awake. Tech is probably talking poor Hunter's ears off so she figures she should go save him from sensory overload this early in the day.

When she walks out of the room, Tech stutters out and goes quiet. She frowns before going for the pot of caf. "I already made you some." Hunter speaks above the awkward silence. "I heard you wake up." 

"Oh." She sits down at the table with both of them as he hands her mug. "Thank you." She takes a drink and is pleasantly surprised, it's exactly how she likes it. He even put the creamer she has been stealing from Crosshair in it. 

"We have a mission. It's what we were talking about." Tech blurts. "We were trying to figure out where to put you." 

"You want me out in the field with you guys?" Flora is taken aback. No one has ever tried to actively include her in missions. She didn't think she had enough training or experience to do missions. She was just the one who ran aimlessly through the battlefields looking for wounded and dodging blaster fire. 

"Why wouldn't we want you with us, Speck?" Wrecker's voice rumbles into the space. His voice volume is much easier to handle after he has just woken up. 

"I don't have much experience in field missions. Especially the kind you guys do." She shrugs before taking another drink. 

Tech blinks at her before typing on his vambrace, "You worked with the 501st legion, 212th and 104th battalions. Those are major combat units. You've been on countless rescue and relief missions." He reads off her mission stats.

"You'll be just fine. Besides you have your mojo to fall back on." Wrecker makes a grab for the beanie on her head but she dodges it, he may be big but damn is he slow. 

"Hate to say it but Wrecker's right." Crosshair mumbles as he pours himself caf. "I also know you've been stealing my creamer. Watch yourself, Hag." 

She rolls her eyes at the nickname. Hag and Speck. Lovely nicknames. They really need to choose one. 

"Where are we going?" She asks. Please don't be a swamp planet, please don't be a swamp planet. 

"Mimban." Tech chirps. 

A swamp planet, fantastic. "What's the objective?" She tries not to let the emotion seep into her voice. 

"I thought you would be a fan of bogs?" Crosshair interjects. 

"A bog witch joke, hilarious." She sneers back. It's way too early for his bullshit. "Anywho, objective?" She turns back to Hunter and Tech.

"There's a Republic Data Center in one of the old Hyperbaride mines. We are going to go wipe the center and bring all of the data back to Coruscant. We figured it would be an easy mission to get you started with us." There's a hopeful smile plastered across Tech's face as he speaks. He's adorable. 

"You can't just say it'll be an easy mission. You'll jinx it!" Flora exclaims. 

"Superstitious much?" Crosshair, again with another witch joke, she is going to strangle him, or better yet maybe she should wait until they are in the swamp, they won't ever find his body then. _"Oh he must have drowned. Oh no!"_ She can see herself fake swooning with a hand thrown up against her forehead. 

"It'll be a two day hike there, it will take at least four hours to harvest the data, and then its a two day hike back." Hunter proceeds to explain.

Five day hike in a swamp, she is beginning to regret joining this squad, Fox can't be all that bad right? 

"We will get there in about an hour. Everyone needs to suit up." 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. I love feedback, comments make my heart happy. Let me know what you think!

Alright, so the swamp planet wasn't as bad as she thought. The fog of bug spray Tech insisted on covering her in as soon as she stepped off the ship, seemed to be keeping the bugs away. Could be worse. 

Flora groans as her boot sinks into the mud up to the ankle. They had been trekking through the swampland for almost eight hours. Mud and water the whole way. "I could carry you." Wrecker says over his shoulder. 

She dislodges her boot and sighs. "I'm fine, Wrecker. Thank you." She readjusts the straps of her medpack and moves forward again. She eyes Hunter as he looks back at her. He's been weird since this morning, a little hesitant but still hanging around awkwardly. He always looks like he wants to say something but doesn't, like it's stuck in his throat. Does he regret having her sleep with him? It was just sleeping, she didn't want to leave him alone after a nightmare like that. And the only one who knows about it is Tech. She'd be more worried if it was Crosshair.

"We have a few more miles before we set up camp for the night." Hunter informs the group as he slashes through a vine. 

"So, Reaper, how does Mimban compare to Tithea? Climate wise?" Tech asks blinking down at her. She knows she's small when even Tech has a good six inches on her. 

"Tithea is milder, it's humid but it's cold most of the time. The forests are decidious, the trees are ancient, moss and ferns grow anywhere they can." She explains as she relives the memories. "There are all sorts of the usual wildlife, my favorite as a kid were the ash-rabbits. They would destroy my mothers garden every year, but she never got rid of them or set up a barrier to keep them out. I think she liked them, too." She beams as she talks. 

"What was it like to have parents?" Wrecker asks suddenly. 

Her face falls. "My mother was the village healer. My father..." She hesitates, trying to think of the right words. She doesn't want to scare them. She rubs absentmindedly at the high collar of her blacks. Swallows before she continues. "My father was a warrior. He wasn't around very often. Always off on some adventure with the others." She lies. She shouldn't lie to them. But now is not the time for her to explain her angsty childhood. "I helped raise my younger brother and sister. Twins. The three of us were my mother's pride and joy, as she would say"

"What were your siblings names?" Tech asks. 

"Ferox, for my brother and Fleur for my sister." She responds with a smile. Gods, she misses those trouble makers. 

"Flora, Fleur, Ferox. She had a thing for F's." Crosshair chimes in. She didn't even know Crosshair remembered her first name. 

She focuses on Hunter for a moment and sees a tick of a smile.

\---------------------

Hunter really should be focused on the path, but he can't help but be totally enthralled with Grimm talking about her childhood. She babbles on and on about her siblings antics to Tech and Wrecker. He huffs out a laugh when she calls them 'The Twins of Terror". Gods, she fits in perfectly. 

Crosshair jogs a few steps to catch up to him. "Why do you seem so weird about her?" He asks without hesitation. 

"She's quiet." Hunter responds. 

"No shit." Crosshair rolls his eyes.

"No. She's quiet. My kind of quiet. She's so. I don't know. Peaceful? It's something that surrounds her, like a barrier." He pauses, listens to her go on about her brother catching garden snakes to keep as pets. "I've never encountered anything like it before. I don't know what it is."

"From what Tech has been saying her species is strange. Not rare, but they don't leave the planet if they don't have a reason too. I bet they forced her to leave. There has to be a file." Corsshair says.

"She will tell us when she's ready. You can't pull another stunt like you did. She needs to trust us and we need to trust her. She's a part of this team whether you want her to be or not." Hunter scowls, he trusts the woman, fuck he slept in the same bed with her last night. He slept so well. He scans the area, not much to see with the constant mist but he can tell they are on an incline at least. Tech mapped out that at the top of said incline would be the best place to set up camp for the night and honestly he can't tell when night will fall, with the mist and constant cloud cover they wouldn't know until night was right on top of them. Better to stop sooner than later. "Tech, how much longer until nightfall?" He asks back to the goggled clone.

"About two hours." Tech answers back.

"Alright, let's pick up the pace." He is a little worried about Grimm. She is much smaller than the rest of them, not engineered for rough hikes through the swamp. She's probably exhausted. "Grimm, how are you holding up back there?" He asks.

"Doing just fine, sir." Her reply is chipper. He glances back and sees that she isn't lying. "I've had worse nature hikes." A lopsided smile is thrown his way. It makes his heart stutter. No, he can't. She's barely been on the team for a week. And he knows Tech has a massive crush on her. He couldn't do that. What if- No. Absolutely not, sharing is not an option.

\---------------------

The ground at the top of the hill is much less spongey than below. Granted being able to see would be nice. "Who's taking first watch?" Flora asks. 

"Not you, Speck. You don't even have a blaster." Wrecker laughs at the woman. 

She throws a scowl his way. "Crosshair will. Wrecker next, then me." Hunter says. She watches the man fish through his pack.

A ration pack is thrown at her. It hits her square in the chest. "You have crap for reflexes." Crosshair mutters as he rips into his ration. 

"I'm still alive, aren't I?" She sasses back. She knows he doesn't quite trust her, it will take some time for him to open up. She can't rush the process. But for now she can sass the hell out of him. 

Tech settles closely beside her, their shoulders almost touching. "What if-" He starts but his words taper off. 

"You okay?" She asks smiling softly at him. Okay, he is quite adorable. 

"We haven't seen your skills yet. I mean we know you're a medic and that's hard to prove when no one is injured, but we haven't seen your magic in person yet. We need to be exposed to it before it's needed. Kind of like watching a jedi fight. You watch them train before combat, get exposure." Tech explains nervously. 

She looks around to the others, Wrecker has a huge grin on his face and Crosshair has a smug smirk on his face. Hunter just stares at her as he swallows his food paste. 

She sighs before getting to her feet and brushing off her clothes. "Unlike the Force, there is no light or dark with magic. You don't need to have complete control over your emotions, those emotions can help you manifest the power needed. The blast you saw was made from a combination of desperation, fear and anger. Adrenaline can help as well." She takes a deep breath before bringing her hands up. They start to glow a bright shimmering white. "A focused blast is easier to conjure than a wave per say." She focuses on a tree stump sitting about fifteen feet from them, concentrates the power within her, visualizing the beam making contact with the rotting wood. She flexes her fingers ever so slightly and the blast slams into the stump sending wood pieces flying. As the light dissipates it glows in pinks, and blues and greens. 

"Oh, damn." Tech mutters from beside her. 

Wrecker starts laughing, almost a little maniacally. Crosshair just shifts his focus from the tree to her, over and over again in disbelief. Hunter smirks, and she doesn't want to admit it but that smirk does something to her. That's for her to unpack at a later time. 

"I excelled in battle magic, but the Republic liked the fact that I could also heal as well. I can destroy and repair." She sits back down next to Tech. 

Tech looks like he has so many questions, but can't decide what to say. She simply pats his knee and smiles at him. 

"Alright that's enough magic for the night. Get some rest. We have a swamp to trek through tomorrow. Crosshair you're on first watch." Hunter stands and makes his way into the makeshift tent. Tech follows and offers Flora his hand. She takes it and he pulls her from the ground. 

He smiles at her. "Thank you for showing us. It's incredible to see up close." She doesn't let go of his hand as he pulls her into the tent. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love feedback! Comments make my heart happy! Enjoy! Thanks for stopping by!

Flora just stares at the canvas material above her head. Tech clings to her in his sleep. She figured he would, but she doesn't mind. She runs her fingers through his soft hair as she thinks. 

"Can't sleep?" A voice whispers from beside her. Hunter must be getting up for his watch. 

She looks over at him, making sure not to disturb Tech from his spot on her shoulder. "Too quiet." She whispers.

"How is it too quiet? I mean the bugs are insane on this planet." He replies. 

"I came from the front lines. There's no shouting, or explosions, no blaster fire. Someone isn't there to wake me up after an hour because someone isn't doing well after an injury." She looks down at Tech. He's so peaceful, so calm. 

"You'll get used to it. Crosshair will start snoring again. It'll be alright." He tries to reassure her. He nudges her boot with his own before he slips his helmet on and exits the tent. She can tell he has always been the voice of reason. The team's rock. 

Tech burrows deeper into her neck as Wrecker comes into the tent. "You should really be asleep, Speck." He mumbles sleepily to her. 

"I know." She mumbles to him. He settles into Hunters spot as she goes back to staring at the makeshift ceiling. 

A large calloused hand wraps around the hand she had laying on the ground next to her. It doesn't take long for his breathing to even out leaving her alone again. 

\-------------------------

Hunter doesn't even know what to do in this situation. He stands at the opening of the tent looking in. Wrecker has himself wrapped around Grimm and Tech still has his head buried in her neck. At least the woman finally fell asleep. She probably passed out after Wrecker decided she needed to be snuggled, he's a human space heater. 

Tech stirs first. He tightens his grip on the woman's waist before he slowly sits up. He blinks and squints as he makes a grab for his goggles. "She smells like petrichor." He mumbles out. 

"She smells like what?" Crosshair asks. 

"Petrichor. A forest after it's rained. Wet dirt. It's really nice." His face flushes at the admission that he likes the smell of the woman. 

"I didn't know there was a word for that." Hunter shrugs. 

"She's just a plant with extra steps." Crosshair grumbles. 

Hunter turns back to the tangle of limbs to see the woman staring at him wide-eyed. "I smell like wet dirt?" She asks. 

"Yes. But a good wet dirt smell." Tech replies typing on his vambrace. 

She tries to wriggle her way free from Wreckers grip but it's no use. "Don't fight him. It won't help any." Crosshair pipes up.

She frowns at him. Hunter knows that Crosshair won't admit it but he likes the little greenish thing. He likes her sass, no one has had the balls to sass him like that. He can tell that he's jealous of the other two. They got to sleep with the medic but he didn't. It makes him chuckle. 

"Alright, big guy, Come on. Wake up." She pats the heavy arm around her waist. 

It tightens and her eye go wide with momentary panic. "When he lets go of you, there will be a ration pack waiting for you." Hunter turns his attention from them to Tech, who has moved back out of the tent and is putting on his chest plate. "How far do we have before we reach the mine?" He asks. 

"About nine hours of hiking. I can do the data transfer tonight but we will have to spend the night down in the mine if that's okay with you." Tech says not looking up from his vambrace. 

Grimm finally stumbles out of the tent, Wrecker behind her. Hunter raises an eyebrow but doesn't say anything, just passes the woman her promised ration pack. 

"Nine hours of hiking? On top of having to navigate through a mine shaft, are you sure she can handle that?" Crosshair hisses into Hunter's ear. 

"I'll be fine. Thank you for your concern, Crosshair." She bites back. Hunter can tell that she gone much farther in much worse conditions. She can easily handle this. 

As she sucks the last of her hydrapack she drops to the ground and laces up her boots, and snags the medpack she had been carrying yesterday. Her face is set in a determined glare. Hunter can't help but look her up and down, he can't believe how small and delicate she seems. He knows she is anything but. Watching her use her magic against a rotting stump was incredible last night. He wants to see what she can do in a real combat role. When he watched the footage he remembers how she used her small stature to her advantage. She may have been trained as a medic but she has also had some sort of combat training. He wonders if she is any good at hand to hand. 

Wrecker brought up another good point last night. She doesn't have a weapon. He wonders if Tech has any extra pistols laying around. That would be good for her. She needs something she can defend herself with but also won't send her flying backwards with recoil. He's sure Tech would love to train her. Anything for him to get closer to her. 

\------------------------

Flora waits for a few steps after everyone goes ahead of her to take off the stupid beanie from her head. This morning wasn't hot but it certainly is now. She takes back everything she has said about this planet. It's miserable. Would she rather be on a desert planet though? Probably not. She drags a hand through her hair. 

"Hey, you alright ba- Woah." Wrecker looks back to look at her. 

She knows her hair is a disaster, being whipped in different directions that don't even match this planets wind patterns. Tech looks back to her for a moment. "They're elemental, Wrecker. Her hair blows around in the winds of her home planet. It's quite fascinating. And if you look at the direction you can tell what season it is. Looks like fall." 

She tries to smooth the dark green strands down as the other two look at her. "It is fall. I think. Not entirely sure. But sounds right." They all turn back around and continue to trudge through the knee high swamp water. Her boots are done for. She can only imagine what is swimming in this water with them. Nope. No. Not going there, not today. 

"This water is about to get deeper." Tech announces. 

She frowns. "How deep are we talking Tech?" She asks. 

"Deeper than your height, Speck." Wrecker says. 

Kriff, she wasn't planning on going swimming today. Especially not with a medpack. "Can one of you take the medpack? The sterile stuff really shouldn't be getting wet." She hates this. 

She thanks whatever gods are above that she was able to shove her extra clothes into Techs watertight backpack. Because this sucks. Wrecker luckily grabs the pack from her. "You can swim right?" He asks her. 

Of course she can swim. Does she want to swim through a nasty swamp all for some data? No. But she will. "Guess we'll find out, won't we?" 

Wading through the swamp water is a lot less daunting than she thought it would be. Wrecker and Hunter carry what equipment they can and Crosshair makes sure his rifle doesn't get wet. Tech and her are screwed though. Being short sucks. But, everything is fine. 

And then everything isn't fine. Something decides to wrap around her leg and _yank._ She gets a scream out before she is pulled under the murky water. She's doomed this is how she dies. She tries to fight off the vine like thing around her leg but she can't. No matter how much she pulls, and kicks, and scratches it won't come loose. 

She panics for a second, she's running out of air, the others don't know where she is under the water. _Use the panic._ She concentrates on the feeling of being pulled deeper into the water. The dread and terror that is icing it's way into her veins. She imagines a burst of magic exploding around her, tries to concentrate on the image. Her lungs burn and she wants to take a breath. She can't. She won't let her body betray her like that. Focus. Focus. Focus. The magic bursts through her. A terrifying force rips through the water. The creature doesn't let go. 

Well, she tried. Maybe the others saw the burst. Maybe they can tell where she is. Her lungs scream. _Breathe, you need to breathe._ Black spots start to dance across her vision. This is how she is going to die, on Mimban, at the hands or tentacles, whatever, of a bog monster. She can't stop it anymore. She gasps and takes in a lungful of dirty water. 

The water suddenly shifts above her, she thinks she sees a knife glint in the light. What light? There's no light down here. Her brain is fuzzy, she's confused. something wraps around her waist. More of the creature. She feels the vise around her ankle suddenly give way and she is moving towards the surface.

\-------------------

Hunter hears the scream and the thrash of water as he whips around just in time to see Grimm's outstretched hand get dragged under the surface. " _Kriff!"_ How could he let her get dragged like that? What has her? Where is she? What will Commander Cody think if they lost their new medic on the first god damned mission they took her on? 

The rest of the team stares at the spot where she disappeared looking for anything, anything that gives them a hint. 

And then the burst of magic surges through the water. Bright and blinding, shimmering it's way towards them. Hunter dives without thinking twice. He doesn't care what kind of creature has her. She is their medic, their team mate. He should have made her swim up near the front of their group. 

He pulls his knife as he dives down through the murky water. He feels for the woman and the creature, he finds her peacefulness slowly fading. He wraps his arm around her waist as he slashes through the thing that has a hold of her ankle. And then he hauls ass to the surface. 

She's unconscious, not breathing. He doesn't panic often but he is now. The water pours from her mouth as he pounds on her back, murky, dirty. She might get sick. And then she's coughing. The water continues to flood out of her. But she's awake and alive. Her first breaths are wheezy in-between heaving coughs.

He holds her close when she slumps against him. She's alive, and breathing. 

Tech is right there next to him, holding her hand and brushing the wet hair out of her face. Even Crosshair lingers to closely. Wrecker stands near their group on the shore, looking for any sign of the nasty beast that did this to their medic. 

"I'm going to get pneumonia." She wheezes out, her voice so weak. "What the hell was that thing?" 

"Shh, don't worry about it. That doesn't matter." Tech murmurs to her. He keeps his gloved hand on her face. 

"Watch her. Make sure she doesn't get up anytime soon." Hunter passes the woman into Tech's arms, she just slumps against his chest plate. He cradles her against him like she's made of glass. 

Crosshair approaches him as he stalks towards Wrecker. "Any sign of it?" Hunter asks. 

Wrecker just shakes his head. "It almost killed her." Crosshair mutters. 

"She's alright. How much farther until the mine?" He asks Crosshair, trying to break him out of his head. 

"Another hour. She almost drowned. She won't be in any shape to move that fast. We have to get away from the swamp. That thing could come back." Crosshair just stares at the water. "She almost died."

"She's alright. She'll be fine." Hunter places a hand on his brothers pauldron and shakes him a bit. "She's fine." 

\-----------------------

Her chest feels like it's on fire. Nobody ever mentioned how bad drowning hurts. She clings to Techs chestplate as she wheezes. She doesn't even breathe, just wheezes. He takes off his helmet and reaches for the medpack. "Tell me what you need." He mumbles. 

"I need you to scan me. Tell me how much fluid is still in my lungs. Then a stim shot. That's it for now. Just have to watch." She says breathlessly. 

"He's worried about you." Tech says motioning to Crosshair as he digs through the pack. "He may act like an ass, but he's not. Just a shell." 

He pulls the scanner out and points it at her chest. He lets her see the read out. "Not too much. Not enough for any immediate danger. Should be okay for a few days. Shot." He gently moves her head to the side exposing the side of her neck. He places the cannister in the space between her neck and shoulder and pushes down the plunger. She hisses. 

Her breathing clears a little as she shifts in his arms. She lets her head thump against his chest plate as she watches the others talk. He runs his gloved fingers through her short hair. "We almost lost you." He pulls her tighter into his chest. 

She can hear the anxiety and fear in his voice. It's so unlike him. "I tried to get it off, the magic didn't work. It gave Hunter enough time to find me." 

"You can't do that to us again. Please." He begs her. 

She doesn't know what to say. No one has cared about her like this. Cared whether she lived or died like this. "I- I won't I promise. I'm not going anywhere." She clutches tighter to him. "I promise." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't usually write super long chapters. Feels kind of weird.


	4. Chapter 4

" _Kriff,_ I hate swamp planets." Grimm wheezes out. Hunter was suprised the woman made it to the mine with minimal help. 

Crosshair's barks out a laugh. "You almost died!" 

She laughs. "I've spent the last year and a half running around battlefields, and a god damned swamp monster almost got me! What the hells?!" She leans against Crosshair as she laughs. Hunter smiles at the site. He's glad that Crosshair has opened up to her at least a little bit, enough to touch her at least. 

He turns his attention back to Tech. "How far down does this tunnel go?" 

"A klick and a half. These mine shafts needed to be deep to harvest the Hyperbarides." Tech replies typing on his vambrace. "Luckily it's a straight shot down there. Shouldn't be too hard." His eyes flick to Grimm. "I saw a respirator in the medpack, she should wear it while we are in there. She can't have anymore contaminates in her lungs. We can't treat respiratory distress out here." Tech worries over the young woman. 

"Who says I can't treat my own respiratory distress?" Grimm chimes in.

Tech rolls his eyes. "Please just wear the mask." 

She holds her hands up in mock surrender. "Alright." 

As she straps the respirator to her face, Hunter slips on his helmet and peers down the mine shaft. Just pitch black as far as he can see. Even with the light attached to his helmet it's dark. It won't be an issue navigating with the night vision setting for them, but Grimm doesn't have any of that gear. He realizes if she is going to be a real part of this team she would need armor and a bucket. He takes a look at her, she's so damn small. Armor would help to bulk up her figure at least, make her look less vulnerable. Maybe even pass her off as one of them. 

"Oh this is going to be fun." Her voice is muffled by the mask but the look in her eyes is one he has seen in Wreckers face before. Unbridled chaos and joy. Hunter jolts back. She's insane, almost as much as the rest of the squad. She hoists the medpack back onto her back, she insisted that she carried it even though she almost _died._ Something about pulling her weight. She links her arm with Crosshair like they are going for a Sunday stroll instead of trekking into a bottomless pit. "Make sure I don't run into anything, yea?" She looks up at him. 

He slides his helmet on with an indignant huff, but pulls her a little closer. 

\-----------------------

Flora thought she knew dark, she was wrong. Not even the nights on desolate, uncivilized planets could prepare her for the all encompassing blackness of this stupid mine shaft. The only thing grounding her is Crosshairs grip on her waist. As soon as they entered this hellhole his grip shifted from her arm to her waist. It almost seems like he needed more contact to keep himself sane. Either way she isn't complaining. 

The silence is the worst part. Just their footsteps echoing off the rock. She reaches out and runs her hand along the rock. Cold, unyielding, a little damp? Ew. 

"A few hundred more feet and we will be at the blast doors. Be careful." Tech chirps. 

Honestly, this would be okay if not for the fact she is relying on a twig with grey hair and a bad stick n poke tattoo to be her sight. (And, yes as a person with many many tattoos she can tell when they are done at 3 am with Tech hanging around asking if it hurts.) 

They walk for a few more minutes before Tech calls out again. "Fifty feet and counting. Switch off night vision and turn on your lamps." 

She blinks when the helmet lamps come on, looking around the cavern at the dark rock and the metallic blast doors in front of them. Crosshair doesn't let her go. 

Tech runs ahead to open the blast doors, crouching down and sending a cloud of dust into the air around him. She tugs on the straps of her respirator nervously. She can only imagine what that dust has in it. The blast doors slide open and they move inward, Tech goes straight for the console while the others linger around. The lights flicker to life exposing the dusty and old equipment. The age of the equipment doesn't phase Tech a bit as he gets to work. 

\----------------------

Hunter settles against the wall next to Grimm. "How are you feeling, Grimm?" He asks the woman who is staring off into space, clearly exhausted. 

"You can call me Reaper, sir. It's what everyone else called me." She murmurs. 

"That didn't answer my question." Hunter's helmet moves to look at her. 

"I'm just tired. My chest hurts a bit. But I'm fine, sir." She answers. 

Hunter flicks through her vitals on his HUD display, her heart rate is just a bit high. She could use a decent amount of rest. "Stop calling me sir. The others don't and you don't need to either." 

"It's a habit." She shrugs before sliding down the rock wall into a sitting position. 

He slides down and sits next to her, pressing his shoulder into hers. The bubble surrounding her slips into his space, calm, ease. 

She yawns before her eyes drift close and she slumps back into the wall. She must have been exhausted to fall asleep against a jagged rock wall. Her head eventually lolls onto his pauldron covered shoulder. He brings a gloved hand and runs it through her hair, it's full of tangles and swamp water but he doesn't really care. He looks at her face, really looks at it. She couldn't be older than twenty-five, but the circles under her eyes make her look older. A couple of years of bad sleep will do that to you. The respirator covers most of the green flush of her skin. She is incredibly beautiful, delicate features, the most intriguing eyes he has ever seen, opalescent, Tech had called them.

He notices a mark on her neck right underneath the collar of her blacks. He lightly tugs the collar down, and can't help the audible gasp that comes from his helmet. Crosshair and Wrecker look over in his direction. A long jagged scar stretches across her throat. The mark a strange shiny dark green. "Woah." Wrecker's voice comes through the comm on his helmet.

"We don't say anything about it. If she wants to tell us she will. It's none of our business. Do you understand?" Hunter speaks with authority through their comms.

Mumbles agreements meet his ears. 

"Tech, how long will this take?" He asks.

"A few more hours. Let her sleep. She needs it. I'll let you know when I'm almost done." Tech replies not taking his eyes off the screens. 

Hunter sits and watches her sleep, listening to the hiss of her breaths through the respirator. Peace and calm washes over him. 

\-------------------

She awakes with a jerk, looking around frantically. "Hey, hey. You alright?" Hunter asks her. She wheezes and coughs from the sudden movement. 

"Sorry. I didn't know where I was for a second. Usually when I woke up there would be another medic hovering over me. The panic has just become a habit, gets the brain moving faster." She explains, she doesn't mention the one time she slugged Helix for being way too close her. He never let her sleep. 

"I'm almost done. Then we can go. It's not the best idea to stay here any longer than we have to. This dust might be toxic. Hyperbarides are heavy metals. They can settle in your blood and slowly poison you." Tech goes on. 

She nudges Hunter with her elbow. "He's so overdramatic. Long term exposure over a period of months can kill you. A few hours around some old dust and grime won't take you out. Besides we all have breathing protection, I'd be more worried if we didn't." 

"You gonna tell him that?" He asks her, disbelief in his voice.

"Nah, I'll let him think he's right for now. I don't want to see him sad." She smiles under the mask. She jumps up form the floor and dusts herself off. Then she bends placing her hands on her knees. "Nope, that was a mistake. Ow." She wheezes out. 

"Are you going to be okay to get out of here?" Hunter asks her. 

She scoffs. "Of course I will be." She picks up the medpack and slings it across her back. 

Crosshair walks towards her as they get ready to move out. He grabs ahold of her hand and brings it up to his helmet. Flora just looks at him. What is he up to? He yanks her sleeve up revealing the yellow flower tattoo. "I thought I saw a flash of color earlier. It's cute, for a woman like you. Simple and small." Simple? Oh she is anything but simple. She takes her arm back and drags the sleeve up as far as it will go, revealing the elaborate vines and plants decorating her arms. Insects mixed into the blooms. 

He is speechless as he takes in the artwork adorning her skin. "I don't do small and simple." She says with a small smirk. 

"Alright you two. We have a lot of walking to do before sun down." Hunter cuts in. 

Small and simple. Please. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter for this one. Thank you for reading and leaving comments and kudos! You guys are great.

The rest of the mission is uneventful. Thank the gods, Hunter didn't think he could handle anymore issues. He watches as Gri- Reaper, she wants to be called Reaper, tries to scrub the mud off of her boots before coming into the ship. Honestly, he doesn't know why she bothers, the rest of them are coated in the swamp still. 

As he walks closer he can hear her muttering angrily. "Only issue one pair of boots. No, you don't get the heavy duty steel toe ones. If I can't get the _kriffing_ mud out of these I swear-" 

"You alright over there Reaper?" Hunter asks amused. 

She jumps at his voice. "Sargent! Didn't see you there. Sorry." She smiles sheepishly at him. 

He comes and sits next to her, she finally puts down the old rag. "A lot of our missions involve a lot of combat. Were you given any armor or gear at all for that?" He asks. 

She gives him a confused look. "No, sir. I spent a lot of my time in the med tents. When I was out on the field I just stuck to cover." She glances back at the semi-ruined boot in her hands. 

"Any weapons training?" He already knows the answer but he wants to be sure.

"Nothing official." A twitch of a smile appears on her face for a brief moment. "A guy in the 501st somehow roped me into shooting a Z-6 once. It didn't go too badly. All things considered." 

He nods. "When we get back to Coruscant you will be getting armor and Tech will be teaching you how to use a pistol. I'll make sure you are issued new gear, the correct gear. We can't have you running around without any protection." He places a hand on her shoulder.

\-------------------------

She stares at the battered boot in her hands. New gear? These boots are over a year old, she's been desperately trying to keep them intact for months. Don't even get her started on her uniforms. 

"Are you sure? I'm just a medic, I'm not trained for combat or weapons or armor." Gods, armor? Where would she even begin with that? "Anyone could do my job." 

She looks at Hunter's hand on her shoulder. "You were sent to us for a reason. You have skills that we can use, Cody saw that. You need to see that as well. You'll get gear when we get back to Coruscant. That's an order, Officer Grimm." Hunter smiles at her. 

She smiles back before grabbing her boots and heading into the ship. 

She sits in one of the seats across from Wrecker and Crosshair. Is she really wanted on this team? Are they sure? Is this just another assignment that just won't pan out? Can she handle another reassignment? 

"Speck! Get out of your head!" Wrecker yells, surprisingly louder than her thoughts. "Whatcha thinking about?" 

She sighs. The one time he pays attention, the one time. "Nothing. Just spacing out." She replies with a fake smile. Please let him believe, please. 

"You're a bad liar." His voice has taken on a sing-song tone. "Come on. What's wrong?" He gets serious. That's not a good sign. 

"I'm wondering how long I'll last in this assignment." She states, it's true, how long will she last here? 

"You planning on ditching us?" Wrecker asks still trying to keep up with the enthusiasm, she can see through the cracks in the façade.

"Wondering when you'll ditch me." She shrugs. She sounds ridiculous. Who thinks like that?

"How long were you at the others?" Crosshair asks. His voice is softer than his usual sneer.

"Seven months with the 104th, five with the 501st, Skywalker doesn't like when medics talk back, and three with the 212th. I spent two training with a Jedi healer." She stares at the floor.

"Prove them wrong. Spite them." Crosshair replies with the venom back in his voice. "What do you think we're doing? Prove to them that you are worth it." 

She looks up at him. He's right, she can't sit in this hole of self doubt forever. Even if she crawls out just to be a petty bitch. She will prove them wrong. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter for this one. In the next part we will get more into some relationshippy stuff. Thanks for reading!


End file.
